SCI 110 Library Resources: Research Tips

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What's the difference between a "scholarly journal" article and a "popular magazine" article? 

For many of your writing assignments, your instructor may specify to use scholarly or peer-reviewed articles only, not magazine articles.  Journal and magazine articles may be found online through a general web search.  But what your instructor is looking for are published articles that have gone through a research process or have been peer-reviewed by an editorial board to verify the data or material presented. These articles may be found quickly by using one of the databases the MCTC library provides for you on one of the library web pages.

Using Google or another search engine will not yield the kind of articles your instructor expects.

How can you tell if it is a scholarly article?  

Scholarly work is:

• written by experts for experts
• contains original research
• gives citations for sources used
• may be peer reviewed prior to publication.

What should you look for to determine if it is a scholarly article?

• Abstract (Is there an abstract, a short summary, at the beginning of the article?)
• Journal Title (Sometime it may have "Journal" in the title?)
• Article Title (Is it explanatory about the subject of the article?)
• Volume and Issue Numbers (Is there a volume number, or issue number?)
• Date of Publication (Can you find the date of publication?)
• Citations (Are sources cited that were used in the article?)
• References (Is there a list of sources used at the end of the article?)
• Biography of the Author(s). (This will tell you who the author is and his/her credentials.
  

After selecting your topic and working on your research question, you will need to pick out the keywords to use in the searching process.  Watch this brief video below that explains how to come up with keywords.

--from Krueger Library - Winona State University

Dos and Don’ts of Effective Online Searching

• DON’T search for your entire thesis/research statement!

Ineffective Search: “Although many foods sold in the grocery are produced with genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), a number of health experts argue these organisms could be harmful.”

More Effective: genetically-modified AND “health effects”  

 

• DO search for specific keywords, terminology or phrases!  

Example: If you are researching “genetically-modified organisms” as a topic, you may also search for related terms or concepts to find more information: “GMOs,” “genetically altered,” “genetic engineering,” biotechnology, bioengineering, etc. 

 

• DO consider searching for different terms with similar meanings. (Tip: You may need to use professional terminology to find relevant information.)

Example: Cars v. sedans

Example: Ladybugs v. Convergens (species classification)

Example: “High blood pressure” v. hypertension

 

• DO use truncation to find related variations of a word.

Example: Comput* (This search will retrieve results with the words computer, computers, computing, etc.)

 

• DO combine search terms with AND, NOT and OR!

AND retrieves articles or web pages that contain multiple words or terms. Using AND narrows your search and decreases results. (Example: Cats AND dogs)

OR retrieves articles or web pages with all search terms provided. Using OR broadens your search and increases results. (Example: Rivers OR lakes)

NOT excludes search terms found in articles or web pages. Using NOT may assist in narrowing searches when words can have more than one meaning. (Example: Preserves NOT jams)

 

• DO use quotation marks (“”) to search for phrases.

Example: attention deficit disorder v. “attention deficit disorder”

 

• DO use parentheses to narrow your searches further and to keep combination searches in order.

Example: Autism AND (Diagnosis OR Treatment)

 

• DON’T assume the computer “thinks” like you do! Try to choose keywords carefully and structure your searches to return relevant results.

 

• DON’T forget to Ask A Librarian when you need help!